Collision report blames jailed sailor

Collision report blames jailed sailor

Brian D'Esterre Roberts was jailed for a year for manslaughter

A government report into a collision between two ships off the Sussex coast has blamed an officer who was jailed.

The Dutch tanker Aquamarine and the cargo ship Ash collided eight miles off Hastings in October 2001.

The German captain of the Ash, Wolfram Gross, died after losing his life jacket when he jumped from his sinking vessel.

The report from the government's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) says the officer on watch on the Aquamarine failed to notice the Ash.

Took action 'too late'

That officer, 39-year-old Brian D'Esterre Roberts from Ireland, was jailed for a year earlier this month for manslaughter.

The report says: "Despite the fact that the weather was fine and the visibility good, the watchkeeper on Dutch Aquamarine did not notice Ash in the period immediately before the collision until she was very close and right ahead.

"By that time it was too late to take effective avoiding action."

However, the report also mentions the actions of a crew member of the other ship, which sank after being holed when struck by the Aquamarine.

Safety advice published

It states: "The situation was compounded by the watchkeeper on Ash, who had noticed Dutch Aquamarine's approach, but had become distracted in the few minutes before the collision."

The MAIB published a safety bulletin the month after the collision, giving a number of recommendations aimed at improving safety in the section of the Dover Strait.

It also carried out research into near-misses in that section of the Channel, the findings of which were published in August 2002.

They confirmed the high concentration of ships using the northern half of the Channel's traffic lane and the frequency of ships passing close to each other.